Police report big increase in Covid breaches

The figures also reflect a big increase in the number of reports from the public to officers about incidents where there are breaches of regulations governing social gatherings during the current lockdown.

From January 1 to February 2, Leicestershire Police gave out a 889 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to people flouting coronavirus rules compared to the 850 they issued between March and December in 2020.

Assistant Chief Constable Kerry Smith said: “The bottom line is that we have had to step up our enforcement as the message was not getting through to the small minority who are continuing to ignore the rules.

“We also have to thank the public for helping us by reporting Covid breaches to us.

“In the last month we received 2,480 calls relating to the pandemic.

“This is double the amount of calls we were receiving before this current lockdown.

“We need the public’s information to guide us and we have been clear as to what the consequences are.

“We are continuing to engage with the public but we are being more proactive in giving out the tickets where possible.

“We continue to share the public’s frustration that the small minority are still taking terrible risks.”

The 889 fixed penalty notices issued so far this year represent fines totalling around £170,000.

From March 23, 2020, to February 2, this year, the Leicestershire force has given out a total of 1,739 FPNs and have received a total of 21,508 reports of Covid incidents.

In this period, 17 licensed premises have also been visited in relation to suspected breaches.

Assistant Chief Constable Smith added: “We continue to say thank you to all of the public who are complying with the rules and understand why they are in place.

“This is allowing us to continue to do other work tackling crime and getting some really good results.”

Among the local breaches where police gave out FPNs last month:

On 18 January, a man was stopped in a car on Glenfrith Way, Leicester, was found to have driven from Bradford to Leicester without a reasonable excuse;

On 19 January, officers attended Merlin Heights student accommodation to reports of a party with over 30 people – the crowd had dispersed leaving only five men who did not live at the address and were fined;

On 20 January, a vehicle was stopped with four males in it not from the same household. They claimed to be going to get a McDonalds meal;

On 21 January, 8-10 people had gathered at a local skate park in Market Harborough, ignoring signs that the park is closed;

On 22 January, a group of five people were found at a residential address from different households in Leicester. Officers were sworn at when they told the ticket recipient that we were in lockdown;

On 23 January, a man was found in a private property in Coalville having travelled from London in order to do DIY for the family.

On 23 January, four people were fined as they were in one vehicle but were from different households – they told officers that they just wanted ‘to hang out’;

On 23 January, seven people from different households were found in a private address in Syston who had gathered to watch the boxing;

On 24 January, police attend a private address in Heritage Way, Leicester finding four people from different households having a party;

On 25 January, four people were stopped in a car in Blaby after driving there from Kent.